This American College of Cardiology (ACC) Advisory describes the public reporting effort being launched by the ACC and partnering professional organizations using clinical data from the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) programs. The following are key points to remember:

Public reporting of health care continues to grow as consumers and other stakeholders seek information on quality and outcome of health care.

The most compelling justification for public reporting is the right of an individual to know about the care he or she is likely to receive.

The mission of the ACC NCDR hospital-level voluntary effort will be to monitor the quality of cardiovascular patient care being provided in a transparent manner.

ACC NCDR will ensure reporting is based on data that are of high quality, are administered with minimal collection burden as cost-effectively as reasonable, and employ clinically valid and methodologically sound measures.

The public reporting program will provide measures that are actionable and consistent with the triple aim of better outcomes, better care, and lower costs without causing unintended consequences in access to care for any population.

The program will focus on measures that include aspects of care where the patient can be engaged as part of the solution where there is clear evidence that individual patient engagement can have an effect on the care being provided.

ACC NCDR will foster relationships of trust through collaboration between patients and their cardiovascular care team by presenting information that is credible, understandable, and actionable.

The voluntary program will empower broader discussions at the community level in improving not only the overall care being provided to individual patients, but the health and well-being of populations.

Finally, the ACC NCDR public reporting program will enable patients and cardiovascular professionals to advocate for policies at the federal and state levels that support achieving the triple aim of better outcomes, better care, and lower costs.